The Tree in the Forest

Chapter Three

                                      ~~~

  It's now mid-summer and you have done of few of the things that you promised yourself you would do, such as see at least one of your cousins.

  This cousin was named Leanne. You didn't like her very much. She was one of the oldest and acted all high and mighty about it. Leanne was only about 16 years old.

  Whenever you told her that you weren't a stupid kid, she always gave you a problem you couldn't possibly know how to solve.

  "Oh really? What's the chemical equation to carbon dioxide?" She would ask with her infuriatingly uppity attitude.

  "How would I know that? I'm only in sixth grade. We haven't learned that yet." You would huff. She would give you a smirk and a flip of her hair, then go back to whatever she was doing.

  Bitch. Bro didn't mind letting you cuss a little bit, but he wouldn't let you say things like that about your cousin.

  Leanne was the epitome of 'bluh'. She thought she was the best at everything, when in reality, she wasn't. You could beat her at a game of Checkers in no time, and just let that idiot try and beat you at Speed.

  Thankfully, she was dragged back to Oklahoma and out of your sight. You hoped you would see Rose and Roxy, but that was unlikely. They lived all the way in New York, so it would be hard for them to come all the way down to Texas.

  John moved here from Washington. He said he lived in this place called Maple Valley. He claimed that it was a nice place to live, but he'd rather be here. People there didn't really like him.

  Karkat moved here from Alabama. He said he lived in a tiny town that wasn't even worth mentioning. He moved here when the two of you were in first grade. He just kind of showed up in the middle of the year, and you hated him -- let's face it, you hated each other-- until about third grade.

  Speaking of them, they were currently at your house, leaning over their pillows as you sat, shining a flashlight under your chin.

  "And that was the story of how I survived the visit of Leanne." You conclude, making a 'sinister' voice to add effect.

  John laughs uncontrollably, clutching his sides while his glasses fell halfway down his face. Karkat just groans and presses his face into his pillow, but you can hear him laughing a little.

"Is she really that bad?" John asks incredulously, straightening his glasses.

"She is." You say simply. The three of you then continue your simple game of Spoons.

"Hey, Dave, why can't we leave your room?" John asks suddenly.

"Because Bro said so, duh." You say, like anyone could have understood it.

"No, not that. I know he said so, but why? It's just a friend." He clarifies.

"You'll hear why. They're louder than we are." Karkat says suddenly, almost voicing your thoughts. John didn't know about Bro's friends yet, but Karkat did. He had been around when they came over a few times.

The noises start quicker than normal and John immediately goes red after hearing a few noises.

"What?" You ask, and Karkat sits next to you, curious about John's actions as well.

"You mean you don't know what's going on? You haven't had 'The Talk'?" He asks you. You and Karkat shake your heads.

"They're having. . ." He trails off for a moment before motioning you closer and whispering "They're having sex."

Karkat's eyes widen and so do yours. What? That's not what friends do. Well, as far as you knew.

"Then Bro does a lot of that." You say, looking at the floor, trying to process what John had just told you.

"Oh, well, that's weird, Dave." John says, but he says he doesn't want to speak about it for the rest of the night. Well, he's going to. You're at least going to get a few answers out of him.

What the hell happens during sex? Bro never told you about it, and with how strict John's dad is, you're surprised he knows and you don't.

Now, Karkat's family was a different story. Karkat's dad didn't really open him up to new things and his brother was god-awful. He couldn't possibly have any idea.

  "That's gross." Karkat mutters, messing with the end of his shirt, his face betraying a red blush. You nod in agreement. John just shrugs indifferently.

  "Dad said that's how babies are made." He says. Karkat makes a mock gagging noise.

  "I was made from that?" He asks, obviously grossed out about the whole ordeal. John nods and says that everyone was made that way, but refuses to explain any farther.

  Honestly, you want to hear more about it, but you could tell that John doesn't want to have to explain anymore. His face was so red that it spread all the way to the tips of his ears.

"Ugh. Let's just try to not think about that anymore." You groan. Karkat and John agree and the three of you plot a plan to sneak out of the apartment even though none of you have the gall to do it.

Eventually you all fall asleep, John being the first, then Karkat, and finally you. You think that you'd rather sleep than keep the knowledge that your Bro had all this 'sex'. Why didn't he tell you?

~<>~

You wake up first and look around at the two sleeping mounds on your bedroom floor. John was a noisy sleeper, whilst Karkat was deathly quiet. The only noise coming from him would be a sigh in his sleep.

You stay in your room for much longer than you normally do, even with friends over. You don't want to face Bro after learning these new things about him. He appears almost dirty to you now.

John claimed that babies were made that way, so did you have nieces and nephews you didn't know about? There are so many questions left unanswered and you want answers now.

  One big question was still in your mind, though. Why didn't Bro tell you earlier? You and Bro share pretty much everything, how was this any different?

                                      ~~~

Hi. I'm back.

This story is intense bruh. Jk it gets more intense as they age.

But yeah John is their good friend who knows about the birds and the bees (which is a really confusing metaphor for sex. Why did anyone thing that was a suitable metaphor for it?)

Karkles is just being really mild atm. That happens a lot in my fanfics.

I like my Karkat being drenched in mild sauce for a little bit.

Also, if you don't know what Spoons is, it's a card game that involves a pile of spoons in the center of a group of two or more people. The object is to get three of the same card first and grab a spoon but once someone grabs at the spoons, anyone can grab a spoon. There will always be one person who does not grab one and that person is out. It repeats like that until there is a winner.

But anyways, I just wanted to say that all types of feedback are appreciated! So don't be shy. If you want to comment something, do it :)

Bye

~Ghostie